


Trials and Tribulations

by TiredBadGayWriter



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bullying, Child Abuse, Depression, Drama, Drama & Romance, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Family Drama, Fluff and Angst, Internalized Homophobia, Kissing, M/M, Murder, Muteness, Name-Calling, Nothing explicit, POV Third Person Limited, Physical Abuse, Racist Language, Self-Harm, Sex, Sign Language, Triggers, some gay shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:55:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25540192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiredBadGayWriter/pseuds/TiredBadGayWriter
Summary: Evan was just a small child when he learned his most important life lesson from his father. No man is created equal, but each man can prove themselves equal to the higher ups.There is a hierarchy in this world. At the top, people who made themselves great or were born great lie. And at the bottom, lie the scum of the Earth. The ones who made no attempt to better themselves, or the souls unfortunate enough to land in a poor, unlikely life.Yeah, it’s not fair if someone is born with absolutely nothing, but the world isn’t fair. That’s what Evan learned.No man is created equal, but each man can prove themselves equal. But maybe his father is wrong.
Relationships: Evan MacMillan | The Trapper/Philip Ojomo | The Wraith
Comments: 13
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Second time writing an actual story. The first I deleted because it was actual trash, and I had no idea where the story was going. So just grab a bag of popcorn, and enjoy. :)  
> .  
> *Rewriting this story. Reread all chapters, please.”

Evan rises from his bed, eyes still red and puffy from last night. He rubs at his arm, hissing from the pain. His father did it again. He hurt him. His father, Archie, punched his arm and left a large, purple bruise. 

Evan yawns and stretches as he wipes his tired eyes. He solemnly looks around his room, glancing at himself in his mirror. Evan approaches the mirror, examining his red, tired face. He sighs as he shuffles over towards the bathroom. He turns the authentic silver handles of the faucet, watching the water rush down into the drain. He forms his hands into a cup, splashing his face with the cold water. Evan wipes his face with a damp towelette and examines his face again. Good. His eyes aren’t puffy anymore. 

Evan exits the bathroom after finishing his business. He strolls back into his room and sighs as he flops back onto his bed. He faces the meticulously placed grandfather clock and groans when he looks at the time. He’s only got about half an hour to finish getting ready for school. Evan groans as he dresses himself in his nicest clothing. You do need to dress nicely on your first day of high school, after all. 

Evan chooses something simple to wear. A nice monochrome outfit, fit with his nice, slicked-back hair. Evan gives himself his best smile in the mirror. He frowns; he hates it. He’s never felt like that smile was truly his, like a mask he used to deceive others. Even his eyes, they have no emotion. They’re just empty brown husks, void of emotion.

Evan wipes at his tired eyes and walks into the kitchen. Evan takes something small from a nearby cabinet, a healthy granola bar. He doesn’t bother to even look at the brand of the bar before unwrapping it and taking a bite. He walks over towards the living room, turning on the tele. It’s automatically on the news, probably what his drunk of a father was watching before he passed out on the couch. 

Evan turns the tele back off, grunting, “hrng, nothing good.” 

He turns to face the window, watching the cars roll by as they shoot black puffs of smoke from their engines. He eyes the nearby buildings. He’s never lived in a normal neighborhood, always living directly next to his father’s mining estate. 

His father, Archie, never wanted to be separated from work. It’s his whole life. Everything he ever did was for the company. Even now, he’s already in the estate, commanding people around, even if it is only 7:20 in the morning. In fact, his father wakes up early every morning to get a head start on work. He loves work. It’s probably all he cares about, except for himself; in fact, to be as work-oriented as possible, he built himself his own house directly next to the grand estate. The house wasn’t even that nice if you could even call it a “house.” It was more of a dull shack, but with tiled floors and roofing. 

Their home is very small, but very nice, consisting of only a few small rooms. It mainly consists of a neat kitchen and living room, along with the necessities, like a bathroom and their bedrooms. Evan is never allowed in his father's room. It’s been like this ever since he could remember. Evan wonders if his father was still this controlling when Mother was around.

Evan never got to meet his mother, for she passed when Evan was still a baby. And every time he would try to bring her up, his father would instantly change the subject, and instead, tell a story of his childhood. 

Evan’s father loves to tell stories when he wasn’t yelling. Those were the times Evan treasured in his heart. His father seemed like a decent person when he told his stories. A warm, bright smile would always spread across his face as he told a random story from the back of his mind.

Evan takes another bite from his bar. He wipes his eyes as he walks towards the kitchen, grabbing a cup and filling it with water. He takes one big gulp before promptly dumping the rest into the sink. He looks at the bar in his hands, thinking. He walks towards the trash bin and dumps the rest of the bar, just like the hundreds before. 

Evan glances at the clock. He sighs as he realizes it’s time to head off. He quickly puts on his backpack. When he walks outside, he’s instantly hit in the face with the smell of the forest. It’s intoxicating in the most awful ways. Evan’s used to the smell by now though. It’s just another normal thing in his life. 

Evan approaches his bike, quickly mounting it and riding off to school. Evan pedals his way to school, admiring the same old view he’s seen a million times by now. It never gets old, the woods. There’s just something about them that Evan can’t lay a finger on. It’s just so… attractive. Every time he looks into the deep greenery, he can’t help but have the feeling of taking a walk into the mystical woods.

Evan sighs as he enters the city, Seattle. It’s just not as magical as the forest. It just doesn’t have the same flare as the deep and mysterious woods does. Seattle is just a mess of buildings; it’s all structured. It’s all just a bunch of straight lines and squares, nothing compared to the quirks that the woods have. Evan still appreciates what it has to offer, though, anywhere is better than being at home.

Evan bikes past multiple neighborhoods. Evan looks at them with resentment. He just wants a normal family, a normal home, and a normal life. That’s probably what every one of these houses holds, Evan thinks, a true family. 

Evan finally arrives at the school. He’s greeted by a grey sky with even greyer buildings. He sighs as he takes his first steps into high school, the worst times in everyone’s lives. When he walks into the large, intimidating monster of a building, he’s instantly greeted by loud chatter, bright colors, and a sudden, heavy feeling in his gut. 

Evan swallows down that feeling as he walks towards the freshman hallway. He eyes the lockers, checking for his locker number. He remembers stuffing a piece of paper informing him of his classes and locker number in his book bag earlier. He digs through his bag, shuffling around many folders and notebooks. He finally finds it, crushed under the weights of his possessions. Evan forcefully tears it out, almost ripping the paper in half. He grunts as he reads the paper, eventually advancing towards his locker, locker 240. 

Evan undoes the lock, slamming the door open. Just as he’s about to shove his things into his locker, a hefty hand slaps down onto his shoulder. 

A familiar voice says, “Hey, Evan, It’s finally good to see you again.” 

Evan tries his best to smile, “Hey, Tom.”

“So, did your dad figure out about us?” Tom teased. 

Evan groans. He isn’t allowed to have friends. It’s one of his father’s stupid rules. He always says friends are “just a waste of time” and “only distract you from work.” Even though Evan knew better than to disobey his father's rules, he still has a life. One that needs friends, people to hang around with. 

“Speaking about us, have you seen Bob and Jim. I haven’t seen them yet.” Evan shrugs. “I’ll beat the fuck out of ‘em if they don’t show up on our first day. I mean, it’s high school! It’s the best and worst years of our lives! We’ve gotta live a little, ya know?”

Evan shrugs again, humming, “I don’t know… I guess?”

Tom playfully slaps Evan on the back, “That’s the spirit, buddy. Now, come on! Class is gonna start soon!”

Evan hums as he looks down at the paper that has his schedule, “Great,” he says sarcastically, “I’ve got English first period.”

Evan grabs his color-coded notebook and folder and heads off to class. He enters the classroom and finds it already filled to the brim. Evan carefully maneuvers his way through the desks to find the perfect seat. Most of the good seats are taken though, and so, he eventually settles on sitting in the back corner of the room. 

This seat isn’t all that bad, Evan supposes. He’s got a nice view of the nearby park from here. That view is sure to distract him in later classes for sure. And it’s in the back, so he gets a nice view of the rest of the classroom. 

Suddenly, a woman’s voice speaks up.

“Good morning, everyone!” the rest of the class shushes up. “I am Ms. Romero, and I teach English here at this school!” 

The preppy, chubby woman has a giant smile on her face, signifying that she’s nice and friendly. And instantly, Evan can’t tell if he likes her or hates her. 

“Now, this year is special! I mean, you’re all high schoolers now! Isn’t that exciting!” She adds a little flair by shaking her hands. “And! We’ve got a new student here! Would you like to come out please!”

She motions her hand towards the door. All eyes immediately lock onto the door, carefully watching the new kid as they come through the door. Everyone eyes the new kid up and down, already deciding whether they will be friends or not. 

Evan almost gasps when the new kid comes in. They are tall, probably around 6’8, just a few inches taller than Evan. It looks like he's got competition now in the height department.

The new kid, they’re a guy. Or at least, Evan assumes it’s a guy if the short hair and tall, lanky body was any indicator. He’s got black as night skin with pearly brown eyes. His hair looks like a baker’s tray of dark cinnamon swirls, all neat and organized. Even though Evan assumes it’s a guy, he has very soft, feminine features; his eyes are soft and his lips are full.

Next, Evan pays attention to his clothes. He has something loose and comfortable on. It’s something that hides his slim body. His clothes are tattered and loose, probably hand-me-downs by the looks of it. 

The woman asks, “Would you like to share your name with the rest of the class?” She smiles.

The new kid hesitantly nods, taking a stick of chalk into his hands. He writes P-H-I-L-I-P, then adds under it, O-J-O-M-O. His name, Philip Ojomo. Evan can’t say he’s ever heard that last name before. It sounds foreign, but he can’t put a finger on where the new kid is from. 

Ms. Romero claps her hands together, “He’s a foreign exchange student, coming all the way from Niger, Africa!” The smile disappears from her face, “And it breaks my heart to tell you this, but Philip, right here, can’t speak. He’s never been able to speak ever since he was a child. He’s mute.” 

Philip faces the class and gives them a fake smile Evan knows all too well, waving his hand towards the class.

Evan furrows his brow. Mute? This is the first time he’s ever seen someone who’s mute. 

The teacher’s smile comes back, “And because he’s mute, today, we’re going to begin learning ASL! So, Philip, go on and take your seat.”

Philip looks around the room, eventually finding a seat next to Evan. He gives Evan a small smile when he sits down, but Evan brushes it off. Instead, he just focuses on the teacher as she begins her lesson. 

Learning ASL is hard, Evan finds out. It took forever just to learn the alphabet. He can’t imagine how hard the rest of the lessons are going to be. 

He doesn’t even WANT to learn ASL. The only reason he’s doing this is to not get a failing grade. Because, lord knows, that if Evan got a bad grade, his father would immediately serve his head on a platter. So, Evan just goes along with it for now.

The rest of the day was just a pure struggle. Since Evan was in a whole new building, he had no idea where he was at all times. It was just pure confusion. He was constantly checking out that handy piece of paper, checking the door numbers to find out exactly where he was.

Around midday, it was finally lunch time. Thank god! Evan couldn’t wait any longer. He wanted a break from his classes, and lo and behold when lunchtime came around, he wouldn’t get a second to rest. 

It all started when Evan sat down at a table with his friends, Bob, Tom, and Jim. Evan set his tray filled with grimy food down, sitting on one of the most uncomfortable chairs he’s ever sat in. He was just having a nice, friendly conversation with his friends, discussing how their days went so far. Then suddenly, a huge bang ran through the room. Evan’s eyes shot towards where the commotion was. And to his surprise, it was coming from Philip, the new kid. He dropped his tray, not on purpose, no, but because he was forcefully pushed down onto the ground. 

Evan watches as tears run down Philip’s face. Evan feels rage boil within his heart as he listens to what the two kids are saying. They’re both calling Philip a mess of awful, awful slurs, ranging from ones about his skin color to ones about sexuality. Evan scrunches up his hands, turning them into fists. 

Why aren’t the teachers doing anything?! And more importantly, where even are they?! They don’t even seem to be here!

Before Evan could think, he shoots himself out of his seat and runs toward the scene of the crime. The boys don’t pay any attention to Evan, too focused on Philip. They’re too focused on Philip to realize the large fist coming at their faces. 

Evan roughly plants a punch onto the bullies’ faces, knocking them to the ground. His fist pulses with pain as he faces Philip, giving the new kid a reassuring nod. Before Evan could react, a fist met his face, too. And he swears, his teeth almost got knocked out. With Evan pinned to the ground now, the bullies were ruthless with their punches. A line of blood spills from Evan’s nose, his head pounding with pain.

“ENOUGH!” A teacher shouts, separating the three boys, “PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE! ALL OF YOU, NOW!”

That’s when Evan knew, this was going to be a fun year.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shananigans at the office :)

The clicking of a ball-point pen echoes throughout the walls of the school’s main office. The office lady, what most students at this school office worker Mrs. Sherwood, attempts to not stare at the four disheveled boys. Two of which are giving Evan a death stare as they rub fresh cubes of ice onto their wounds. Evan snarls at the pair of boys, nose plugged with a reddened tissue. Separated by a small end table, Philip sits next to Evan. The boy sniffles, wiping the wet streaks of tears that line his rich, smooth skin. He isn’t crying anymore, but the after-effects are still present. 

Evan can practically taste the tension in the air. He just wants to run over there and give those two asshole kids a beating again. What they did to the new kid was unforgivable. Evan doesn’t even know what the kids’ names are, but he can instantly tell what kind of people they are. Evan turns to face the new kid, watching the dark, scrawny boy’s somehow even thinner hands rub his reddened eyes. How could a human being do this to someone? It always baffles Evan how people could bring joy upon themselves by giving others unbearable pain. Either way, these assholes deserve any ounce of pain they get in their futures. 

All four boys’ heads turn when they hear the large door to the principal’s office creak open, and all four boys practically quake in her presence. Evan had seen the principal before, for they had met shortly at the high school’s enrollment ceremony a few weeks prior. Even now, he is still surprised by the powerful aura the tall woman emanates. The woman, Miss. Adiris, appears tall and slim with medium length brown hair accompanied by a slick, black suit. Her presence as a powerful woman seems natural to her; it was almost as if she was made in some factory to be some higher-up in some prestigious company. Everything about her seems perfect and powerful.

Mrs. Sherwood’s head perks up, “Oh, it seems that Miss. Adiris is ready for you boys.” 

Miss. Adiris looks towards the bully kids and beckons the two over. The boys are hesitant to get up from their chairs, but one glance at Miss. Adiris’ expecting face makes them hastily rise from where they sat. The two boys follow Adiris into her office, scowls still present on their sour faces.

Evan sighs as he slouches on his chair. It’s his first day of school here, and he’s already gotten into all sorts of trouble. Father’s going to be pissed. He’ll probably give his ass another whooping tonight. Evan shivers at the thought.

Evan’s train of thought is interrupted when a slim hand taps the side of his shoulder. Evan’s eyes meet Philip’s face. The boy’s face is a deep shade of reddish-brown as a shaky smile spreads across his dark lips. He motions his skinny hands towards Evan, forming various letters in ASL. Philip signs a “thank you” to Evan, Evan saying a quick “thank you” back. 

Evan thanks God for that ASL lecture Ms. Romero gave them in English, for he probably wouldn’t have understood a single thing that Philip had signed just now.

Evan smirks, “It was no problem. Those guys were assholes; they deserved what they gAH-!” Suddenly, a spark of heat pulses through his head, growing ever so slowly. Evan hisses as he clenches his jaw and his eyes shut. His hand grasps at the throbbing pain in a futile attempt to lessen the scorching pain. He can practically feel the blood pumping through the veins in his head. 

A slight tap on his shoulder switches Evan’s focus onto Philip. Squinting one eye open, Evan watches as Philip signs basic letters in ASL, but Evan can't focus, not with this blazing fire that's ablaze in his brain. Evan sighs as he closes his eyes, taking deep breaths to try and lessen the pain. A small, warm, tickling sensation coming from his nose breaks his concentration again. With his bare arm, Evan wipes the unknown substance coming from his nose. When his eyes reopen, he takes a small glance at his, now dirty, sleeve. 

Blood.

Apparently, some blood managed to snake its way through the small cracks of the paper tissue. Evan sniffles as he eyes the room for another tissue to stuff his nose with. His eyes light up when he spots a small, square tissue box that’s patiently sitting on the end table between him and Philip. His hand eagerly reaches for a fresh piece of paper. Evan stops in his tracks when his hand touches the tissue along with something else.

Philip’s soft hand grazed Evan’s. For a moment, the two boys locked eyes, but just as quickly as the touch started, it ended just as fast. Philip quickly retracted his hand, signing a shaky “sorry” over and over, a deep shade of red forming on his skin. 

Evan swiftly ripped the tissue out from the box, brushing off Philip’s actions, “Don’t worry; it was just an accident. Don’t pay any mind to it.” 

Philip furrowed his brow before giving Evan a fake, content smile and nod, obviously still flustered.

Evan briefly stood from his seat to rid the used tissue, stuffing his nose with a fresh, unused one. Sitting back onto the office’s chairs, Evan folds his arms as he closes his eyes and takes another few deep breaths. Evan nearly drifts off into a nap due to Philip’s soft humming. Evan opens his eyes, watching the slim boy twiddle his fingers and tap his feet to the beat of the song he’s humming.

Wait...humming?

Evan speaks up, “Hey.” Philip’s musical humming stops before sounding a little “hmm?” in response.

Evan continues, “I thought you were mute, or whatever, so... why can you hum?”

Philip hums, signing with his feeble hands, ‘I can’t fully speak, but I can make small noises.’

“So…” Evan pauses, “What can you say?”

Philip signs, ‘The most I can do is mumble, but if I do it a lot, it will hurt my throat.’

“Ohh, so, like… you can slightly speak; It’ll just hurt if you do.”

Philip smiles as he nods.

Evan slightly furrows his brow, “What is that song anyway? I've never heard it.”

Philip signs, ‘Of course you haven't heard it. It’s a song from Nigeria, where I was before I moved here. The song is quite popular there.’

“Oh,” Evan exclaims, “That reminded me; why did you move here, to America.”

A blank stare and frown overtake Philip's face. Uh oh, it looks like Evan struck a nerve.

Evan can’t tell if tears are forming in the corners of Philip’s eyes when he signs, ‘It’s personal.’

Evan’s eyes move to the floor, “Sorry for asking.”  
Philip reassures Evan that it’s fine, that he didn’t mean to pry into his personal life. Evan can’t simply get over it though. He obviously said something to trigger the poor boy, but why? Why is moving to America such a sensitive topic? Does it have something to do with his family or maybe with his past living situation? Evan knows that living in Africa isn’t the most… comfortable situation, or that’s what Evan thinks at least…

Philip taps on Evan’s shoulder, giving the white teen a forced half-smile. He signs, ‘Friends?’ 

Evan slightly smiles, “Yeah… we can be friends.”

A real smile takes over Philip’s face. 

Evan and Philip’s eyes immediately shift to Miss. Adiris’ office door as it gently swings open. Miss. Adiris calmly leads the two boys out of her office and beckons Evan and Philip to join her inside her room. Evan and Philip share a nervous look before rising from their seats and moving towards their principal’s office. While on their way to the woman’s office, Evan notices the faces of the two opposing boys. They both have scowls on their face, their eyes filled with pure rage and hate, and Evan couldn’t help but give one back as they left the office for class.

As soon as Philip and Evan enter Miss. Adiris’ office, they’re instantly hit with the smell of a sugar cookie scented candle. The two boys set their bottoms onto wooden chairs that lay in front of the woman’s desk. Philip and Evan take in the new atmosphere the small room provided. Unlike the principal herself, her office space is small and homey. Pictures of previous principals with giant smiles littered the wooden room’s back wall. A grey sky peeks through the window that lay on the room’s western wall. A large wooden bookcase, filled with the school’s records, amongst other important school things, covers the room’s eastern wall, setting a comfortable atmosphere for the small office space.

Miss. Adiris crosses her arms, “You both know why you’re here today.” Evan and Philip shuffle in their seats, eyes trailing towards the ground. “I’m first going to speak to you about your actions, Evan. What you did in the lunchroom is unacceptable. I know you only had good intentions. You just… approached the situation incorrectly.”

Evan was tempted to speak up against the woman, but he knew better than to argue with the people in power.

“And you, Philip, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. No child, let alone another human being, should have to go through something as horrible as racial discrimination, and believe me; those two boys are both getting suspended for at least a week each.”

Evan slightly raises his hand before speaking up, “Don’t you think they should be getting harsher punishments.” Miss. Adiris tilted her head, “I mean; this won’t stop them from being racist. When they come back, they'll just bully Philip again. Whenever a problem happens in my father’s estate, he instantly gets rid of the source of the problem, usually by firing the people who gave him trouble. Maybe you can do something similar?”

Miss. Adiris sighs, “The way you talk about it makes it seem so simple, but unfortunately… it’s not. I’m rooting for you guys, but I really wish I wish I could do more, but-”

“Well, you’re the principal; aren't you?” Evan interrupted.

“W-well, yes, but there are these certain… rules that schools have to follow. Even though I may be the principal here, I can’t change the basic rules, and the rules say that I can't expel any students for bullying. The most I can do is give them short suspensions and speak to their parents about their behavior.”

Evan folds his arms, a look of disappointment taking over his face.

Miss. Adiris exhales, “Look, boys, I’m rooting for you; I am, but there’s nothing I can do. For now, it’s up to David and Kazan’s parents to discipline them to try and fix their behavior.”

Evan slumps in his chair, eyes trailing off to view Philip, who’s currently tapping his feet and playing with his fingers. Evan smiles. If Evan has him to protect, Philip should be fine. Evan is a MacMillan, and MacMillan’s are strong and hearty like bulls. Evan will go through whatever it takes to care for his friends.

Miss. Adiris speaks up, “Also, Evan, I will have to, unfortunately, contact your parents and also give you some sort of punishment.”

“What? No, please! My dad will kill me!”

Miss. Adiris raises her pointer finger, “Up, let me finish.” She clears her throat, “Fortunately for you, I can either give you detention… or I could make you be Philip’s school helper until he gets situated here in this school. After all, this is his very first time being in an American school, especially one as big as this one.”

Evan grins, “I’ll take that, but please… don’t tell my father about this, please!”

Miss. Adiris taps the crown of her head, contemplating, “Okay! But this’ll be our little secret, capiche?”

Evan looks to his left and sees a smiling, nodding Philip. He faces back to Adiris, “Thank you! Thank you so much! You won’t regret this I promise!”

Miss. Adiris clicks her tongue, “Alright, boys, get outta here and get back to your classes. The day’s already halfway over!”

Evan grins, “Yes, Miss. Adiris!”

Evan and Philip leave the woman’s office with bright smiles. They both sigh; that went better than Evan thought it would. Miss. Adiris was actually really nice! Based on her looks and aura, she seemed like a cold, mean woman, but she’s actually a kind soul!

Both boys look at each other with silly grins on their faces. With both boys happy over their newfound friend, they gleefully walk back to class together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help I still hate my writing AAAAA

The clicking of the classroom clock excites Evan. It’s the last class of the day, and Evan can’t wait to get out of here. His headache and nosebleed stopped a while ago, and all was well. He looked at the clock. Five more minutes to go. 

His last class of the day is history. Evan hates history. Why do we have to remember all the dead people that “made this country?” It’s all bullshit to Evan because of the lies. Every single one of these stories could be utter bullshit. They all make out these founding fathers as these great warriors and geniuses of their time. They’re all just like his father, made to be this great human being who secretly is awful behind the scenes.

Evan groans as he looks up at the clock, but a small spark of excitement pulsed through him when he realized it was time to head home.

And just like clockwork, Evan’s ears perked as the blaring alarm ring throughout the school’s empty halls, signifying the end of the school day. Almost every student rushed out of their classrooms, eager to get home after a tiring first day of school and flooding the once-empty halls. 

Evan sighed in relief as he packed his things into his bag and went out into the hall, evading all of the teens as he made his way to his locker. Still unfamiliar with the layout of the grand highschool, it took some time for Evan to find his exact locker.

After searching rows and rows of the metal cabinets, Evan finally found his locker. He fiddled with the lock until he pulled it off with a little click. He stored the things he doesn’t need to bring back home and kept the things he needs. He turned to face the end of the hall, ready to leave and go back “home” for the day. 

To Evan’s worry, he saw Philip nervously standing in the middle of the sea of high school students, dark eyes darting towards every small corner of the long hallway.

He seems lost, Evan thinks, almost a stray pup.

Evan equipped his bag and sauntered over towards the large man. Like Evan, Philip is a tall, young man. So tall, in fact, that their heads are higher than the rest of the cramped group of high school students. It was truly unfortunate, though, that Evan no longer reigned supreme in the kingdom of being tall.

“Hey, Philip, what’s wrong?” Evan spoke.

Philip signed slowly, ‘I don’t know where my locker is.’

“Well, what’s your locker number?” Evan asked.

‘23~,’ Philip signed.

The first two numbers came easy to Evan, but he didn’t understand the last.

Evan scrunched his brow, “Sorry, I don’t know numbers in ASL yet. Could you spell it out for me?”

Philip nodded, signing ‘T-W-O, T-H-I-R-T-Y, N-I-N-E.’

“Two thirty nine?” Evan questioned.

Philip slightly smiled, nodding.

“Well, that’s convenient. My locker’s right next to yours! Come on, I’ll show you the way!” Evan beckoned Philip to follow him, and Philip followed his command. 

It is odd, how Evan got so friendly with Philip so quickly. It was probably due to the fact that they’ve been through so much together, despite only knowing each other for a single day. Usually, Evan was cold and refined to others, except for his three friends, but something about Philip allures Evan.

“Well, here it is! Your majestic locker my good sir.” Evan said, adding a little flair to the end of his sentence that made Philip smile.

Evan watched as Philip packed his things into the cramped locker, which made a question pop into his head.

“How come I haven’t seen you here yet, at your locker?”

Philip signed something that Evan didn’t know before signing his sentence, ‘I was too scared to go to my locker.’

Evan scrunched his brow, “and why’s that?”

Philip’s hands moved to spell out his sentence, ‘what if someone hurts me?’

Evan clicked his tongue, “Then those people will get reported and suspended, so there’s nothing to worry about. Plus, now you’ve got me to protect you now from all of those assholes!” Evan said as he flexed his lean biceps.

Philip giggled, making Evan smile, ‘yeah, you’re right.’

‘By the way, is your head feeling any better?’ Philip asked.

“Oh, that… I’ve been through worse. That was child’s play.”

Philip cocked his head, ‘worse pain?’

“Yeah, at my dad’s mining estate, I’ve had to stop a couple of fights from time to time. I work there on weekends, so I get my hands dirty from time to time too. Oh! One time, I had a stop a fight between these two guys who were arguing over some stupid shit. It was bad. Punches were being thrown left and right, but luckily, I was there. I went in between the two guys, but instead of actually stopping the fight…. I kinda got knocked out myself.”

A worried expression overcame Philip’s face, ‘were you okay’

“Oh yeah,” Evan scoffed, “that’s just one of the worst stories. I’ve had a lot worse, believe me.”

Philip still looked a bit worried, but Evan had to reassure him that he was fine; nothing bad happened to him. After all, would he be here today if he wasn’t?

Philip smiled, making Evan a bit more relieved.

It takes Evan some time to realize that almost every student was missing from the high school hallway, all except for him, Philip, and his other friends who are waiting patiently at the end of the hallway. 

“Oh shit! Look at the time!” Evan exclaimed as he looked at the clock in the middle of the school’s hallway, only to realize that he’s been talking to Philip for about ten minutes now, “I’ve gotta go! My buddies are waiting for me! Sorry, Philip, but I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Evan ran off without giving Philip another word. He didn’t even give Philip time to say goodbye.

Evan rushed towards his friends and began walking with them towards the school’s front doors. Walking home with Tom, Jim, and Bob was something that started recently; although, they’d always visit Evan’s home last so that his father wouldn’t see him with his friends. 

“What took you so long?” Tom said, nudging Evan in the shoulder just enough to push him back a little.

“I was just talking to the new kid, Philip, ya know?” Evan responded as he opened the school’s front doors.

“Humph,” Tom responded, “don’t take this the wrong way but….”

“But what?” Evan cut him off.

“N-Nothing.” Tom said.

A silence fell between the four boys for a moment, but that moment quickly died when Bob said, “Hey, Evan.” Evan replied with a little hum. “What you did during lunch was incredible! I always knew you were a strong bastard, but to actually see your strength in person, that shit was awesome!”

The boys walked towards the side of the building where the kid’s bikes are kept during school hours.

“Tch.” Tom scoffed as he and the rest of the boys unlocked and hopped onto their bikes. 

“Eh, it was nothing special,” Evan shrugged as he rode away with his friends, “I was just doing the right thing. No one else was doing anything, so I thought ‘I might as well step in.’”

Jim stepped in, “Either way, what you did was awesome! I could have never done that. I’m too much of a string bean, just like Tom.”

“Woah, woah,” Tom said, “I could have easily taken those kids. In fact, I’d probably beat ‘em up better than Evan did.”

“Ooh,” Jim and Bob said in sync, “don’t start anything with Evan, Tom. He’ll beat the shit out of you.”

Tom scoffed, “I would like to see him try.”

Bob and Jim gave each other a slightly nervous look. They know how strong Evan is. They’ve heard stories about his immeasurable strength, but now they know that those stories could actually have been real. After what Evan did in the lunchroom, they wouldn’t doubt him.

“Oh,” Evan raised an eyebrow, “You wanna start something, or are you too much of a pussy to actually do something?”

Tom’s face was as red as a tomato, “Alright, let’s bet on it.”

Evan smiled, “Oh, what are you willing to bet?”

“Whoever loses... has to buy the winner, Jim, and Bob some ice cream from their own pocket cash.”

Evan smirked “Alright, I’ll take on this ‘bet,’ but don’t be pissed at me when you lose.”

The skinny boy smirked, “Oh, I’m not losing this. Trust me.”

Jim interrupted Tom’s moment, loudly whispering into his ear, “You can’t be serious, right? Just look at him! He’s a mountain! He’s taller AND buffer than you! You don’t really think you’ll win, right?”

Tom playfully knocked Jim in the shoulder, “Shut it, queer! I can do this!”

Jim stumbled back but quickly regained his balance on his bike, “Whatever you say, man. Just find somewhere safe to do this. I don’t want to get in trouble with the cops.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tom said.

“C’mon, I think I know a place.” Evan interrupted.

Evan led the other boys to a very familiar place, a small clearing of land that’s adjacent to the woods that surrounds his home.

“Alright, this is it!” Evan said, hopping off his bike and planting his shoes onto the dewey grass. Tom eagerly hopped off his bike and marched over towards Evan. Both Bob and Jim stayed towards the edge of the small area, not wanting to get caught in the fight that was about to occur. Tom rolled up his sleeves and gave Evan a fierce glare, but all Evan did was beckon him over with his hand.

“Jim! Count down from ten!” Tom raised his voice. 

Both boys waited in a deafening tension as Jim counted down from ten. Both boys shot daggers into each other's souls, Evan looking more confident and cocky than Tom, who was more eager and feral.

When the clock struck zero, it was as if a fire ignited in Tom’s heart. He instantly charged towards Evan and raised his right hand, balling it into a shabby fist. Evan swiftly stepped to the side and felt the cold afternoon air breathe through his slick hair. 

“Nice try!” Evan spoke, “But you’re gonna have to do better than that if you want to beat me!”

Tom snarled as he threw another punch, aiming directly at Evan’s stomach. Evan dodged again with a smile on his face. Evan decided to make the next move, quickly advancing towards the still recovering Tom. Evan threw a punch that landed directly on Tom’s face, and Evan swears he could have seen blood fly out from Tom’s nose.

“Oh shit!” Bob and Jim hissed.

“Nice try! But you’re gonna have to do better than that to beat me!” Tom hissed, blood rushing down his nose.

Evan snarled, “Tom! Don’t actually make me hurt you! Just give up! You’re not gonna win!” Tom wiped away some blood before rearing another punch towards Evan. Evan simply stood in one spot until Tom was close, kicking his foot out to trip the lanky boy.

Tom hissed as some small rocks dug into his back, “I’m no pussy!” He yelled, “I’m not giving up! We’re going to fight! And do it properly!”

Evan scrunched his brow before Tom moved again. Tom threw his right hand towards Evan’s face, but Evan, again, quickly moved to the side to dodge it. But it was all for not, that punch that was thrown at Evan’s face was simply a feint, a cover-up to hide Tom’s real attack.

Evan hissed as the punch landed right between his ribs. He slightly stumbled back; ‘that’s sure to leave a bruise.’ He thought, but he’s been through worse. This pain was nothing. His father has hit him enough to kill a man. This measly punch was easily something he could handle.

“You wanna get serious, Tom? Then let’s get serious!” Evan shouted. 

“Come at me, fag!” Tom shouted.

Evan cringed at the familiar word as he moved in for the attack, deciding to mimic Tom and use a feint to move in for the real attack. He balled both his fists and moved towards his face and side. It worked. Tom wasn’t expecting a taste of his own medicine. 

Tom fell back onto the ground, breathless. Evan took a moment to just stand there; “please, please don’t get up.” he thought. To Evan’s relief, Tom’s hand came up and waved with the cool breeze that ran through the area. 

He’s given up.

Evan sighed in relief as he jogged over towards Tom. He reached his hand to Tom’s and firmly grasped it. Evan pulled Tom up onto his feet and gave him a hefty pat on the back. 

“So…” Evan began, “about that ice cream.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tom breathed, “whatever.”

“Hey,” Evan spoke, “You managed to get a hit on me! That’s better than like ninety percent of everyone I’ve fought!”

A smile came over Tom’s face, “Thanks, Evan.”

Evan smiled back, “anything for a friend.”

“C’mon!” Bob said, “Let’s get home before it starts getting dark!”

“True,” Evan said, “It is fall, so night should be getting here faster.”

Evan and the boys hopped back onto their bikes, “My house is literally right here, so this might as well be goodbye for me!” Evan spoke, “I’ll see you guys Friday!”

“Wait!” Bob spoke, “What’s today?”

Tom nicked Bob in the shoulder, “It’s Thursday, dumbass.”

“Oh,” Bob giggled, “sorry.”

Evan waved bye to his friends with a giant smile as they rode off in opposite directions towards their respective homes. When his friends were out of sight, his smile dwindled. 

“Time to go back home.” He mumbled.

The ride back home was humble, for the dark scenery of the grey sky and green woods really set the mood of a nice, dark afternoon. Evan stared out into the woods as he rode home. He closed his eyes, taking in the delicious natural smell of the woods. He sighed. Unfortunately, his father only sees these woods as a hunting ground.

Sometimes, Archie likes to take Evan on hunting trips, just as a father-son bonding trip. His father’s favorite way of hunting is by setting up traps for some poor animal to fall into. He thinks using guns is too complicated; he’d just rather stick with the things he knows… traps. 

Even when setting up traps for animals, Evan was different from his father. Evan liked to make elaborate, makeshift traps made from rope, leaves, cages, and bait, but his father only stuck with the basics… bear traps.

Evan is nowhere near like his father. While Evan loves to take in the beauty of nature, his father only seems to want to destroy and take from it. Sometimes, Evan likes to sneak away during the night to draw the beautiful scenes that occur in the woods.

Sketching is also something that’s prohibited by another one of his father’s rules. Like most of his father’s rules, they’re just there to make sure Evan has absolutely no fun in his life. All his father wants him to do is work, work, and do even more work.

Sometimes, a fleeting thought comes into his mind when he stares into the woods. It’s an intrusive thought, one that he’d never act upon. Maybe, just maybe, he could kill his father and then bury his rotting body in the woods. But Evan always shakes that thought out of his mind, it’s ridiculous. Evan doesn’t have the heart to kill, especially his own father… even if he is a huge asshole sometimes.

As Evan neared his home, he felt his heart thump a little harder than before. A lot of bad memories are stored in that horrid building, but so are a lot of good ones. Like his father’s stories that he told Evan from time to time, but he hasn’t told Evan a story in a long, long time.

Most of his stories involved hunting or things that happened in his mining estate. The stories ranged from small, happy stories about how he caught his first deer to stories about how the “maggots” that worked at his mining estate fucked something up and how he’d fire them immediately.

It was odd though. After his father would fire them, Evan would never see them again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen a person his father had fired leave the building, but then again, Evan doesn’t like to watch what goes on in that building. Working there on the weekends is already enough.

When Evan finally reached home, he set his bike on the side of his home and went inside. Instantly, Evan strolled to his room and threw all his clothes off and flopped onto his bed. He hissed as he accidentally bumped against the area where Tom had hit him earlier.

Evan sighed as he rubbed the tender spot on his head, “What a tiring first day of school.”

**Author's Note:**

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> I’m @danishpastri there!!!


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